Stuart Corner
Tuesday, 02 December 2008 01:45
IT Policy -
Government Tech Policy
Page 1 of 2
Communications minister, senator Stephen Conroy, has given a $700,000 foundation grant to the nascent peak body formed to represent consumer telecoms users, the Australian Communications Consumers Action Network (ACCAN).
The $700,000 grant will used by ACCAN for establishment, recruitment, legal and research activities prior to its official launch on 1 July 2009. It follows the allocation of $87,000 in transitional funding in June 2008, and is a prelude to what consumer bodies hope will be increased ongoing funding that will enable much stronger representation of consumer interest in the telecommunications industry than ever before.
Teresa Corbin, executive director of the Consumers Telecommunications Network (CTN) told iTWire "We are talking about a whole different ball game, a much larger organisation that is much better resourced and that will lead to much better outcomes."
The new body had its origins in
a promise made by Conroy in his speech to the Australian Telecommunications Users Group conference in March when he said he was interested in exploring a range of options that would "provide the strong voice consumers need."
To progress this Conroy organised
a Consumer Stakeholder Forum in Canberra on 1 May and subsequently
announced the $87,000 grant to CTN to cover costs associated with setting up the new body. Consumers handed a report to the minister outlining their plans for a new representative body on 31 July.
Those plans included a proposal for ACCAN to absorb CTN and take over administration of grants funding totalling about $800,000 per year on which CTN and a number of other consumer representative bodies presently rely and which is provided under section 593 of the Telecommunications Act. This is the goal towards which ACCAN is presently working, but it is depending on funding in the May 2009 Federal Budget
Announcing the $700,000 funding, Conroy said it followed the
Government's recent endorsement of the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman connect.resolve campaign to improve complaints resolution in the telecommunications sector.
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